Busted LS6 intake...fixable?
TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 625
Likes: 0
From: Raleigh, NC
So the OP must not be coming back to let us know his progress. It seems like all these intake repair threads end with someone getting advice and never coming back to report results.
I got the epoxy I ordered. If it works $30 will be a cheap price to pay. As a recap, this epoxy is listed by the manufacturer to bond to nylon 66 (what the intake is made of). Its the only epoxy I have found that says it can bond to the Nylon 66 thermoplastic material. It just can't fill large voids or holes, its for bonding and has to stay only a few millimeters thick. Anyway, this is just a spare intake that I have nothing in so I will try it out and report on the results.
My results will be slow since A)its been to cold to turn my outside water on so no pressure washer to clean the nasty intake and B) My swap won't be in a place to run until fall. I'll get around to doing the repair once it warms up. Worst case I'm out $30.
Here is a question for you guys though. The rear map port isn't designed to come out very easy and it has the o-ring for a seal. Could A guy just use the epoxy to bond the MAP port into the intake and ditch the oring. It would be just a more ridged mounting. I don't see a problem with it but I want opinions. Because of the way mine broke I'm concerned with the o-ring seal.
I got the epoxy I ordered. If it works $30 will be a cheap price to pay. As a recap, this epoxy is listed by the manufacturer to bond to nylon 66 (what the intake is made of). Its the only epoxy I have found that says it can bond to the Nylon 66 thermoplastic material. It just can't fill large voids or holes, its for bonding and has to stay only a few millimeters thick. Anyway, this is just a spare intake that I have nothing in so I will try it out and report on the results.
My results will be slow since A)its been to cold to turn my outside water on so no pressure washer to clean the nasty intake and B) My swap won't be in a place to run until fall. I'll get around to doing the repair once it warms up. Worst case I'm out $30.
Here is a question for you guys though. The rear map port isn't designed to come out very easy and it has the o-ring for a seal. Could A guy just use the epoxy to bond the MAP port into the intake and ditch the oring. It would be just a more ridged mounting. I don't see a problem with it but I want opinions. Because of the way mine broke I'm concerned with the o-ring seal.
The stuff I used rated a compressive shear bond to nylon of 1526 psi, which should be plenty for most anything on an intake manifold.
http://www.loctiteproducts.com/tds/EPXY_PLSTC_S_tds.pdf
Here is my update. So I went to a plastics company and got an epoxy that is designed to work with thermoplastics (nylon 66). I have $0 in this LS6 intake so I tossed $30 at the epoxy just to try it and so far I am impressed. This stuff cures hard and I couldn't get it to come off of the plastic once its on there. I am 100% confident that this stiff can fix an intake. The repair is going to come down to my ability to get the opening round and smooth so the oring can seal. My engine build won't be ready to run for a while so I won't have any official results until the end of the summer. I also need to paint the intake to cover up the repair. Here are the pics.
Broken Parts
First things was to wash the filthy parts. Then I used the Plexus MA310 thermoplastic epoxy to fix the broken nipple for the vacuum. It was broke off and split so I repaired it and then sanded it smooth with some flexable sand paper left over from a plumbing job.
Then I had to repair the intake by fixing the split circle and then dropping it in the front of the intake so it would fall to the rear and could be attached. The key here is to use a dremmel to smooth out the jagged edges so you can get things to settle into place.
Then sand smooth
So I am going to paint it next, then reinsert the MAP port, and then test it out. this fall when I have some concrete results I will write up a how to or something.
Broken Parts
First things was to wash the filthy parts. Then I used the Plexus MA310 thermoplastic epoxy to fix the broken nipple for the vacuum. It was broke off and split so I repaired it and then sanded it smooth with some flexable sand paper left over from a plumbing job.
Then I had to repair the intake by fixing the split circle and then dropping it in the front of the intake so it would fall to the rear and could be attached. The key here is to use a dremmel to smooth out the jagged edges so you can get things to settle into place.
Then sand smooth
So I am going to paint it next, then reinsert the MAP port, and then test it out. this fall when I have some concrete results I will write up a how to or something.
So the OP must not be coming back to let us know his progress. It seems like all these intake repair threads end with someone getting advice and never coming back to report results.
I got the epoxy I ordered. If it works $30 will be a cheap price to pay. As a recap, this epoxy is listed by the manufacturer to bond to nylon 66 (what the intake is made of). Its the only epoxy I have found that says it can bond to the Nylon 66 thermoplastic material. It just can't fill large voids or holes, its for bonding and has to stay only a few millimeters thick. Anyway, this is just a spare intake that I have nothing in so I will try it out and report on the results.
My results will be slow since A)its been to cold to turn my outside water on so no pressure washer to clean the nasty intake and B) My swap won't be in a place to run until fall. I'll get around to doing the repair once it warms up. Worst case I'm out $30.
Here is a question for you guys though. The rear map port isn't designed to come out very easy and it has the o-ring for a seal. Could A guy just use the epoxy to bond the MAP port into the intake and ditch the oring. It would be just a more ridged mounting. I don't see a problem with it but I want opinions. Because of the way mine broke I'm concerned with the o-ring seal.
I got the epoxy I ordered. If it works $30 will be a cheap price to pay. As a recap, this epoxy is listed by the manufacturer to bond to nylon 66 (what the intake is made of). Its the only epoxy I have found that says it can bond to the Nylon 66 thermoplastic material. It just can't fill large voids or holes, its for bonding and has to stay only a few millimeters thick. Anyway, this is just a spare intake that I have nothing in so I will try it out and report on the results.
My results will be slow since A)its been to cold to turn my outside water on so no pressure washer to clean the nasty intake and B) My swap won't be in a place to run until fall. I'll get around to doing the repair once it warms up. Worst case I'm out $30.
Here is a question for you guys though. The rear map port isn't designed to come out very easy and it has the o-ring for a seal. Could A guy just use the epoxy to bond the MAP port into the intake and ditch the oring. It would be just a more ridged mounting. I don't see a problem with it but I want opinions. Because of the way mine broke I'm concerned with the o-ring seal.
Here is my update. So I went to a plastics company and got an epoxy that is designed to work with thermoplastics (nylon 66). I have $0 in this LS6 intake so I tossed $30 at the epoxy just to try it and so far I am impressed. This stuff cures hard and I couldn't get it to come off of the plastic once its on there. I am 100% confident that this stiff can fix an intake. The repair is going to come down to my ability to get the opening round and smooth so the oring can seal. My engine build won't be ready to run for a while so I won't have any official results until the end of the summer. I also need to paint the intake to cover up the repair. Here are the pics.
Broken Parts
First things was to wash the filthy parts. Then I used the Plexus MA310 thermoplastic epoxy to fix the broken nipple for the vacuum. It was broke off and split so I repaired it and then sanded it smooth with some flexable sand paper left over from a plumbing job.
Then I had to repair the intake by fixing the split circle and then dropping it in the front of the intake so it would fall to the rear and could be attached. The key here is to use a dremmel to smooth out the jagged edges so you can get things to settle into place.
Then sand smooth
So I am going to paint it next, then reinsert the MAP port, and then test it out. this fall when I have some concrete results I will write up a how to or something.
Broken Parts
First things was to wash the filthy parts. Then I used the Plexus MA310 thermoplastic epoxy to fix the broken nipple for the vacuum. It was broke off and split so I repaired it and then sanded it smooth with some flexable sand paper left over from a plumbing job.
Then I had to repair the intake by fixing the split circle and then dropping it in the front of the intake so it would fall to the rear and could be attached. The key here is to use a dremmel to smooth out the jagged edges so you can get things to settle into place.
Then sand smooth
So I am going to paint it next, then reinsert the MAP port, and then test it out. this fall when I have some concrete results I will write up a how to or something.
Also I would more than likely ditch the o-ring and permanently fix that MAP elbow on there. With the uniform finish that epoxy is leaving I would think you can make it look like it pretty much came that way.
http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=24934
I got the 50ml cartridge and didn't use all of it. The only problem is that it dries rock hard and fast. You have a short timeframe to work and then the tip of the dispenser hardens shut. I did the broken nipple first and then realized the problem when I went to do the intake its self. I ended up cutting the dispenser open and mixing and spreading it on with a flat stick. Wear rubber gloves too. This stiff is a bitch to get off. It was nice to quickly change gloves a few times during the process instead of getting it every where.
The intake is still in primer. I can't decide on a color for my truck so I'm waiting to paint the intake. I might just go black and be done with it. I like the stock look. I had to paint it to hide the repair so I sanded the casting marks off too.
This is the guide to bonding that says this is the stuff for Nylon 66
http://www.on-hand.com/Manuals/How%2...ndPlastics.pdf
If it leaks I'll have to do something like that but for now I am out of the epoxy and at $30 a tube I'll see what I have before I do anything else.
